Church of England accused of double standards over low wages

A procession at the start of the enthronement service of the Most Rev. Justin Welby as archbishop of Canterbury inside Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent. Photo courtesy Anglican Communion News Service/The Press Association

LONDON (RNS) The Church of England was accused of double standards on Monday (Feb. 23) for offering jobs in cathedrals at lower wages than those it has called on other British employers to pay their workers.

Under the banner headline “Wages of Sin,” the Sun reported that it had found several advertisements for jobs in cathedrals that offered pay well below the “living wage” of 7.85 pounds ($12) an hour, endorsed by the Church and senior politicians.

Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said the Church recognized that no employer could ramp up wages overnight, and was working hard to get to a point where it was paying all of its workers the living wage.

“It’s embarrassing. We’d prefer to be there. We’re getting there as quickly as we can,” Welby, the spiritual head of the 80-million strong Anglican communion, told the BBC.

“It’s not the only area where we fall short of our own standards. We work on it as hard as we can,” he said.

The report comes days after Anglican bishops published an open letter in which they criticized Britain’s “almost moribund political culture” ahead of a national election due on May 7.

The letter, in which the bishops commented on a number of political issues including government welfare reforms, annoyed some politicians and prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to defend the changes.

Among other recommendations, the bishops voiced support for the living wage, calculated by campaign group the Living Wage Foundation, at 7.85 pounds per hour for workers outside London and 9.15 pounds for those in London. Britain has a government-set national minimum wage of 6.50 pounds per hour.

The Sun cited advertisements for a kiosk assistant at Canterbury Cathedral at 6.70 pounds an hour, and for staff at Lichfield Cathedral at 6.50 pounds an hour, among other jobs being advertised at below the living wage.

“It’s astonishing that the Church of England can call for the living wage to be paid by employers but don’t pay it themselves,” Conservative member of parliament Charlie Elphicke told the Sun.

It is not the first time since Welby became Archbishop two years ago that the Church has been accused of not practicing what it preaches.

Last year, it criticized payday lender Wonga before the press revealed that it had funds invested in the firm. The Church severed its ties with Wonga last July.

The thing about the “Religious Left” and “progressive” churches is that they don’t actually care about progressive causes like living wages or “inclusivity.” They are merely using those causes to draw in followers who have been avoiding Christianity because it is right-wing. It’s all marketing.